WA State to Spend $150 Million to Convert Ferries to Hybrid Power

Three massive Washington State Ferries will be eventually converted to hybrid power, according to the Washington State Ferry System and the Department of Transportation.

$150 million dollar contract awarded to Seattle company in August for work

 According to WSDOT, the three Mark II Class Ferries, the Wenatchee, Tacoma, and Puyallup will all have half of their diesel engines removed (2) and replaced by electric hybrid power.

The work will be performed by Vigor Industries, a Seattle-based shipyard company. The original company that built these ferries, Todd Pacific Shipyards, was bought out by VIgor in 2011.

The winning bid on the job, from Vigor, was $150 million. According to WSDOT, the bids ranged from $122 to $162 million.

Each of these ferries can carry up to 2,500 people and as many as 202 cars, making them the second-longest double-ended ferries in the world; meaning cars can enter or exit from each end. Each of the ferries weighs over 4,000 tons, in the range of the weight of a WWII Navy Destroyer.

The WSDOT operates a total of 21 ferries of various sizes in its fleet. According to data from various sources, the range of an electric ferry ranges up to 100 nautical miles, or 115 miles on land.

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Norway has a number of all-electric ferries in operation. According to WSDOT, the project is slated to begin operations by 2026, but it will take longer to complete converting all 3 Mark II boats.